


Party Guests

by ivnwrites



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Banter, Corvo hates parties, Daud might be a bit ooc. I don't know maybe he became more serious as he grew up., M/M, Pre-Slash, Thorpe was the guy who let corvo out of prison, Unresolved Romantic Tension, outsider magic, pre dishonored 1, these two grumpy morons and their UST
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 16:20:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13978902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivnwrites/pseuds/ivnwrites
Summary: Royal 'soirees' were frankly the worst part of Corvo's job as royal protector, they were long, boring, and unavoidable. The only thing that could possibly make them bearable were conversations with infamous gang leaders who weren't invited in the first place.(Takes place pre-Dishonored 1)





	Party Guests

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by the amazing corvo x daud art that I’ve seen from rebelflet, feelgoodart, and wickedpeen. This takes place about 15 years before the first game, so Corvo would be about 25, and Daud would be about 28, and would have already met the Outsider.

Corvo possessed a deep and abiding hatred of parties, a fact that he couldn’t see changing anytime in the near future. During the previous event, he’d been forced into the middle of the crowds, and the polite double-talk of the high born attendees twisted over and around itself so many times that it nearly made him nauseous. His job was to protect the princess, not make banal conversation with a bunch of men and women who circled him like hagfish searching for an opening to latch their jaws around his throat. He’d almost physically jumped at the opportunity to spend this one stationed at one of the balconies that was off limits to the general attendees, out of reach of their well manicured claws.

He ran his fingers over the marble banister with a long sigh, the cold leeching into his skin even with gloves on. Corvo shifted positions for the umpteenth time and cracked his neck. It was less taxing to watch from above, letting his eyes track Jessamine without constantly having to shove his way through the crowds that thronged around her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t equally as tedious. He was becoming tempted to start flinging random bits of debris at the people below when a voice rang out along the balcony.

“The lord protector doesn’t enjoy consorting with his peers?”

Corvo jolted in surprise and spun to see a man standing close behind him. He should have heard footsteps signaling the intruder’s approach but there had been none, only the sound of wings flapping that he’d assumed had come from the roof. “Daud.” The two of them had spoken a few times before when Corvo had been exploring Dunwall shortly after his arrival in the city.

“I’m surprised they don’t give you these nights off.” He brushed past Corvo to peer over the railing, a smirk painted across his features as he gazed down at the courtyard. “I would think that with all the extra guards the princess was safe enough without you.”

Corvo raised an eyebrow. “The fact that you’re here would seem to prove otherwise. How many people did you kill to get in?”

“No one tonight.” Daud turned to rest his elbows on the banister, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that the position left him vulnerable. It would only take one good shove for Corvo to send him over the edge. “I have other tricks up my sleeve.” He cocked his head. “Though you look bored enough that I don’t think you’d object if I’d come here for a mark. It would give you something to do.”

Corvo responded with a noncommittal grunt and a half smile. “So why did you come here? Assuming it wasn’t for the company”

“A mutual friend of ours asked me to speak with you.” Daud answered, holding his hand out with a resigned sigh. He was fully aware of how ridiculous the statement sounded, but he couldn’t be sure what Corvo’s immediate reaction to ‘the outsider sent me’ would be. In the best case he’d be dismissed as crazy, in the worst, Corvo would send the Overseers after him. “I’m not going to kill you, I promise.”

For nearly a full minute, Corvo seriously considered walking back into the tower and down the stairs to join the party below, confident that Daud wouldn’t follow him out into the public eye. In the end though, mingling with the gathered gentry was a more painful prospect than anything Daud could have planned, and Corvo cautiously reached out to take his hand.

There was a sharp jerk, and the stomach twisting feeling of falling for a moment before the air rushing by his ears suddenly stopped, and Corvo found himself standing atop the flat corners surrounding the domes on the corner towers, staring out at the water rather than the courtyard. A wave of vertigo from the sudden shift sent him reeling, and he stumbled forward a step before clamping his free hand around Daud’s bicep to regain his balance. “What the hell was that?”

Daud couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction, letting go of Corvo’s hand to hold the younger man steady so he wouldn’t topple over the edge of the tower into the river below. His own first time using the traversal had resulted the same disorientation, and it had taken a week of practice for it to stop. “Magic, the kind the abbey would like to have my head for.”

Corvo’s head flicked up in surprise. “You worship the outsider?”

Daud let out a derisive snort, releasing his hold on Corvo as the younger man found his feet again. “The day I worship that bastard is the day I slit my own throat.” He flexed the fingers of his left hand unconsciously, leather gloves creaking quietly at the stretch. The mark had stopped glowing, but the skin still felt warm compared to the rest of his limb. “Let’s just say the two of us have a business relationship.”

The clarification went unremarked upon as Corvo took a step forward to sit on the low wall in front of him, leaning against a nearby spire. “I assume he’s the one who sent you?”

“Yes, though he doesn’t have a habit of explaining his requests.” Corvo chuckled and Daud joined him atop the wall, stretching his legs out along the edge rather than keeping them planted safely behind it the way Corvo had. 

“I’ve come up here a few times before.” Corvo remarked after a particularly strong gust of wind died down. He twisted to point toward the horizon near one of the other towers. During his first few months in Dunwall, Corvo had used his sporadic free time to visit the harbour at the southern edge of the city, watching until the ships and their smoke trails disappeared over the horizon. “With a good enough telescope you can see the Serkonos lighthouse, if the weather decides to cooperate.”

“Do you miss it?”

The question caught Corvo off guard, and he stared silently out at the water below for a long time before opening his mouth to speak. “Parts of it, yes, others; no.” He looked over at Daud. “And you?”

“I’m not a fan of nostalgia.” He nonetheless had turned his head to follow the direction of Corvo’s arm, able to imagine the coast beyond the darkened skyline. ”My life is here now. I’ve had enough to keep me busy and away from my memories.” The two sat in silence listening to the wind that drowned out the chatter from the guests below. A steamer ship passed close to the tower and Corvo squinted down at the deck to see the crew moving about as they headed out to sea.

Eventually Daud turned away from the flickering trails of streetlights visible across the river to look at Corvo. “The last time we spoke, you looked halfway lost.”

“To be fair, I wasn’t in the friendliest of neighborhoods.”

“True. Most of the people in the financial district would charge you an arm and a leg just to tell you whether to turn left or right.”

“Which is of course what I’m referring to.” Corvo shot back with a quirk of his lip.

“Oh you mean the hatters?” Daud asked with no small measure of disdain. “The eels? I doubt you have to worry about them.” 

“What about your Whalers?” Corvo had seen them at the edges of his vision at seemingly random times, usually watching from a rooftop. They disappeared when they noticed him watching, vanishing from view and leaving behind only soot that floated through the air behind them. He’d known it had to be some sort of magic, but couldn’t be sure till now.

“We don’t start unnecessary fights.” Daud replied, tapping his fingertips over the slots on his glove that held his crossbow in place. He looked up from the glove and fixed Corvo with a slight grin. “Though if you ever grow tired of all this, we could use a man with your skills.”

“I’ll stay on my side of the law if it’s all the same to you.” Corvo answered, half cut off by his own surprised laugh. "But thank you." His attention was pulled away when he heard a voice echoing up the wall and he glanced down to see one of the watch officers walking along the balcony. Corvo turned back to Daud, standing from his place on the wall. “If I’m missing for too long people will start to get suspicious.” He took Daud’s hand without hesitation this time and let himself be pulled up onto the edge.

“Jump.”

“What?”

With a smile Daud leapt off the tower and Corvo was dragged out into the open air behind him with a startled shout. He was falling for half a second before color disappeared from the world and the two of them were frozen in place midair. He had a moment to gaze at the ground below in amazement before he saw Daud reach toward the balcony and felt his stomach twist again. They landed firmly back on the stones a second later, and Corvo could feel Daud’s forearm across his chest, bracing him up against the wall as he found his bearings.

“Are you alright?”

Corvo blinked a blur away from his eyes and looked up at Daud. They were close enough that Corvo found his eyes trailing over the scar that stretched across Daud’s cheek. “I’ll be fine.” They heard footsteps nearing the corner and Daud took a step back before disappearing over the edge of the balcony and instant before the guard came around the corner.

“Lord Protector, there you are.”

“Thorpe,” Corvo relaxed at the tone of relief he heard in the officer’s voice, evidently nothing had gone wrong beyond him being absent.

“I didn’t see you on my rounds, wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I think I forgot how long these events could last.” He answered with a grimace, folding his arms over his chest. “I started walking around so I wouldn’t fall asleep on my feet.” It wasn't true at the moment, but it had been earlier in the evening. The past few hours were making him question whether this was actually a better option than being forced to move around constantly. It had been obnoxious, but at least it had kept him awake. 

Thorpe used his head to gesture back along the walkway. "There's a communal coffee pot in the guard post in the east tower. You're always welcome to come grab a cup."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind for the future." A flicker of motion caught his attention, and Corvo saw a flash of red atop the waterlock. If he squinted, he could see lantern light reflecting off two round lenses placed above a blunt snout. The mask tilted and the figure gave him a short wave before it dove over the side and vanished against the night sky.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this feel free to leave a comment or come by [my tumblr](http://ivnwrites.tumblr.com/), I promise that inarticulate screaming actually means a lot more to authors than people seem to think.


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